OTSELIC – Voters in Otselic Valley will go to the polls tomorrow to decide on a $22.6 million capital improvement project.

The Otselic Valley Board of Education has proposed a building project that would combine the school’s elementary and high school campuses. Currently, the district is split, with students in kindergarten through sixth grade attending school in the Georgetown Elementary School and students in seventh through 12th grade in the South Otselic High School.

The project is being proposed as the result of a State Education Department Building Condition Survey that shed light on several physical issues in the schools which required service, upgrading or replacement.

A Facilities Planning Committee was formed. The committee examined three different options; renovating both the elementary and high school buildings, merging the school with another district or creating a combined campus. They recommended the combined campus option, citing potential cost savings as a reason.

District Superintendent Larry Thomas said the project is important on two levels. “The board feels this will ultimately improve the overall program, kindergarten through 12th, for students in the district,” he said. In addition, the superintendent cited a significant cost savings to district taxpayers. Thomas has said the project could save up to $1.1 million a year, through personnel, energy and transportation costs.

The proposed building project calls for renovations and additions to be made to the South Otselic building to create a combined K-12 campus and the addition of a new bus maintenance facility. The plans call for the addition of 21 new classrooms, six new bathrooms, a second gymnasium, a new playground and the new bus garage. In addition, several other parts of the campus will be renovated, upgraded or realigned to accommodate the proposed plan.